Real Estate Buying Advice For Potential Home Owners

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Suppose you are moving to a new town because you have just gotten a job there. How do you decide on the area where you want to live? The Chamber of Commerce can be a good place to start. They can give you information about a much wider area and put you in touch with accredited real estate agents.

Look at a lot of houses before you buy, even if you love the first property you tour. It can be easy to fall in love with the idea of buying a house and then, consequently, the first property you see. Make sure to tour many other properties for comparison, just to make sure that the house you choose has everything you want or need.

When you want to buy a home and you have the credit, the job and the necessary funds, usually there are no good reasons to postpone the purchase. In some cases for example, when you are new to the area, your job is not secure enough or you are getting married in the near future, you might consider putting off the purchase.

Meet with a lender prior to looking at homes. Ask about the available loan options so you will get an idea of how much cash out of pocket you will need for closing costs, down payments, and any other fees. You may find yourself surprised at the amount of money that you may be able to afford due to the low interest rates.

You begin your search by broadly and gradually narroweing its focus. When you find a nice-looking neighborhood close to your new job, take a moment to walk around and get to know the area. Don't hesitate to strike up conversations with neighbors asking about schools and so on. Once decided, you'll just need to go to a real estate agent to check out listings in your chosen neighborhood so that you can find the best home for you with the best location!

Home Equity Rises, But Is It Enough?

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About 312,000 residential properties regained equity in the first quarter of this year, raising the total of residential properties with equity to more than 43 million, CoreLogic reported Thursday in its annual home equity report.

Still, as of the first quarter, about 6.3 million homes – or 12.7 percent – have negative equity compared to 6.6 million or 13.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013. Negative equity refers to borrowers who owe more on their mortgage than their homes are currently worth.

What’s more, of the 43 million residential properties who do have equity, about 10 million have less than 20 percent equity, an at-risk position to be in if home prices were to fall, according to CoreLogic’s report. About 20.6 percent of all residential properties are in what’s considered such an “under-equitied” position.

“Despite the massive improvement in prices and reduction in negative equity over the last few years, many borrowers still lack sufficient equity to move and purchase a home,” says Sam Khater, CoreLogic’s deputy chief economist. “One in five borrowers have less than 10 percent equity in their property, which is not enough to cover the down payment and additional costs associated with a conventional mortgage.”

But CoreLogic is projecting an additional rise in home prices of 5 percent over the next 12 months which is expected to lift another 1.2 million properties “out of the negative equity trap,” says Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic.

CoreLogic’s report shows the following states have the highest percentage of all mortgaged properties in negative equity:

• Nevada: 29.4%
• Florida: 26.9%
• Mississippi: 20.1%
• Arizona: 20.1%
• Illinois: 19.7%